Tetrazolium salts, such as 2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl tetrazolium (INT), are useful in the measurement of analytes which can be converted to an equivalent concentration of NADH due to the reduction of the tetrazolium cation to its corresponding formazan which reduction can be accurately measured by colorimetric means.
A typical reagent system for determining concentration of an analyte, such as glucose, in body fluids is based on reductive chemistry wherein the primary components are hexokinase (HK), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PDH), diaphorase, nicotinamideadenine dinucleotide (NAD) and a tetrazolium salt as indicator. In operation, hexokinase catalyzes the reaction in which, in the presence of the analyte, e.g. glucose, and magnesium as enzyme activator a phosphate radical is taken from ATP thereby converting it to adenosine diphosphate to form glucose-6-phosphate which is oxidized in the presence of NAD and G-6-PDH thereby reducing NAD to NADH. The NADH, in the presence of diaphorase as electron acceptor, reduces the colorless tetrazolium salt to its colored formazan counterpart thereby providing a detectable response which is directly quantitative for the detection of NADH and indirectly quantitative for the analyte whose presence triggers the reduction of NAD to NADH.
Tetrazolium salt indicators are commonly used with dry reagent formulations which employ diaphorase or a chemical mediator in the color generating step. An adequate amount of the indicator must be present to completely consume the reducing equivalents that originate from the influx of an analyte such as glucose into the reagent system.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,655,382 discloses tetrazolium thiazolium salts in which the counteranion can be chloride, iodide, bromide, thiocyanate, thiosulfate, sulfate, paratoluenesulfonate, methylsulfate, ethyl sulfate, nitrate, acetate, perchlorate, perborate, sulfite, hydroxide or carbonate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,864 the patentees state that one of the objects of their invention is to provide a novel light sensitive photographic material containing a tetrazolium compound. They point out that this and other objects can be attained by preparing a photographic material which comprises a support and at least one light sensitive silver halide layer and another hydrophylic colloidal layer coated on the support, one of which layers contains a tetrazolium salt. They point out that where the salt of a tetrazolium compound is used as a non-diffusible ingredient, such salt can be synthesized by reacting a tetrazolium cation with an anion capable of making the selected compound non-diffusible. Counteranions such as those derived from higher alkylbenzenesulfonic acids, e.g. dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid or a higher alkyl sulfuric acid such as lauryl sulfate are disclosed.
Co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 07/898,317 discloses sulfonate and phosphonate salts of tetrazolium compounds which exhibit unexpectedly high solubility in polar solvents. Also disclosed in this application is the manufacture of a test strip by first dipping a substrate in a methanol solution of the benzenesulfonate salt of tetrazolium indicator compounds and then contacting it with an aqueous solution of adenosine triphosphate.